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Public discussions about trails are often quite emotional. Questions always arise about the effects of trails on the environment and about how much public access is appropriate. A few facts may help to put the discussions in context. We've gather some statistics about publicly owned lands and trails in Boulder County and surrounding areas in the hopes the data will add some perspective.
In the following table we've shown acreages, square miles (acreage divided by 640), and miles of trails on public lands managed by various local land management agencies. As a measure of the extent of the trail systems we've calculated a trail density factor (trail milage per square mile of land managed).
Finally, we've generated a worst case measure of possible trail impacts by assuming that each foot of trail devastates an 100 foot wide corridor of land and calculating the resulting percentage impact on the total property. It's important to note that we do not believe trail effects are anyway near that severe. The few studies we hear repetitively cited clearly indicate that trail effects, when any exist, are much lower.
| Property | Acres | Sq. | Trail | Trail | Max. |
| Miles | Miles | Density | Impact | ||
| Larimer County | |||||
| Larimer Co. Parks & Open Lands (total 2002) | 18,937 | 30 | 50 | 1.6 | 3% |
| Horsetooth Mtn Park (2002) | 2,410 | 4 | 28 | 6.7 | 13% |
| Jefferson County | |||||
| Jefferson Co. Open Space (total 1997) | 43,000 | 67 | 150 | 2.2 | 4% |
| Jefferson Co. Open Space (total 2002) | 49,000 | 77 | 175 | 2.3 | 4% |
| Pine Valley Ranch (1997) | 820 | 1 | 4 | 3.1 | 6% |
| White Ranch (1997) | 3,040 | 5 | 18 | 3.8 | 7% |
| Elk Meadow Park (1997) | 1,140 | 2 | 12 | 6.7 | 13% |
| State Parks | |||||
| Lory State Park (1997) | 2,479 | 4 | 25 | 6.6 | 13% |
| Eldorado Canyon State Park (1997) | 783 | 1 | 7 | 5.7 | 11% |
| Golden Gate State Park (2001) | 14,000 | 22 | 35 | 1.6 | 3% |
| National Forest (1997) | |||||
| Rosevelt/Arapahoe NF (w/forest roads) | 1,500,000 | 2,349 | 3,305 | 1.4 | 3% |
| Rosevelt/Arapahoe NF (trails only) | 1,500,000 | 2,349 | 724 | 0.3 | 1% |
| Boulder Co. R/ANF (trails only) | 133,846 | 209 | 136 | 0.7 | 1% |
| Boulder Co. R/ANF (trails, w/o Wilderness) | 105,533 | 165 | 73 | 0.4 | 1% |
| Indian Peaks Wilderness (total) | 70,782 | 111 | 100 | 0.9 | 2% |
| Boulder Co. Indian Peaks Wilderness | 28,313 | 44 | 63 | 1.4 | 3% |
| National Park (1997) | |||||
| Rocky Mountain | 266,000 | 416 | 355 | 0.9 | 2% |
| Boulder Co. Rocky Mountain Park | 27,450 | 43 | 37 | 0.9 | 2% |
| City of Boulder | |||||
| Open Space (1997) | 26,347 | 41 | 70 | 1.6 | 3% |
| Open Space (2003, w/JeffCo Properties)* | 36,145 | 56 | 78 | 1.4 | 3% |
| Mountain Parks (1997) | 6,200 | 10 | 49 | 5.0 | 10% |
| Mountain Parks (2003)* | 6,555 | 10 | 52 | 5.1 | 10% |
| Total (2003) | 42,700 | 67 | 130 | 1.9 | 4% |
| Boulder County | |||||
| Boulder Co. Parks & Open Space (1997) | 42,633 | 67 | 54 | 0.8 | 2% |
| Boulder Co. Parks & Open Space (2003) | 77,560 | 121 | 81 | 0.7 | 1% |
| Hall & Heil Valley Ranches (2001) | 11,000 | 17 | 19 | 1.1 | 2% |
| All Boulder Co. Public Lands (1997) | 263,367 | 412 | 372 | 0.9 | 2% |
| All Boulder Co. Public Lands (2003) | 295,536 | 462 | 394 | 0.9 | 2% |
| Boulder Co. Total Acreage | 475,265 |
*Note: Boulder City Open Space and Mountain Parks Departments were merged in 2001.For comparision purposes we also show the components of the new Open Space and Mountain Parks Department separately.
Last Updated on 11/11/03